


Halcyon Days

by NIGHTFURY



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Gen, Suicide Attempt, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-08-29 18:19:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16749229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NIGHTFURY/pseuds/NIGHTFURY
Summary: Do you remember those halcyon days?When we were young and unafraid?When the only time we saw a spadeWas in the garden where we played?Or Shiro reads something as Team Voltron waits for a cryopod to open.





	Halcyon Days

**Author's Note:**

> Short, but I am satisfied with it. Also, I pictured these events taking place between Season 4 Episode 3 (you know, after Pidge gets Matt back) and the Season 5 finale. Enjoy!

_Long ago on a blue planet,_  
_There were two boys in a garden._  
_Our hands were covered in mud_  
_As we played to be space men._

 _We’d send ourselves soaring through stars._  
_We were explorers, intrepid and bold._  
_We fought battles, we won wars_  
_Against the aliens of Planet Mold._

 _Do you remember those halcyon days?_  
_When we were young and unafraid?_  
_When the only time we saw a spade_  
_Was in the garden where we played?_

 _We found their legacy in a cave_  
_And it took us to them._  
_War-torn souls, desperate for help._  
_“Please save us from Death’s drum!”_

 _It only took a few words from you_  
_Until you had an army large._  
_With tarnished sword and shield in hand,_  
_You stood up tall and yelled, “Charge!”_

 _In swift time, you saved the people,_  
_You had the enemy stalling._  
_This was who you were meant to be,_  
_A hero was your true calling._

 _Do you remember those halcyon days?_  
_When we weren’t scarred and afraid?_  
_When shovels couldn’t bury men,_  
_Just tend the garden where we played?_

 _Yes, I was proud you found your purpose._  
_But somewhere along the line,_  
_In the glory of seeing yours,_  
_I lost sight of mine._

 _The day that you went away,_  
_I knew I was to blame._  
_I should have accepted my fate._  
_This mantle wasn’t mine to claim._

 _But now you’re back, so this will change._  
_This time, I choose not to fail you._  
_If there’s an extra man, fine._  
_I always knew I’d die here too._

 _I wish I was at the garden again._  
_I wish we could play once more._  
_Unaware and innocent_  
_Of what the night had in store._

 _Now I must face the truth:_  
_I have fulfilled my role._  
_There’s no need for a replacement,_  
_When there’s no longer any hole._

 _I can say I did my best,_  
_Even though it wasn’t much._  
_But I held on until you got back,_  
_I can at least say as such._

 _I ask that when you think of me,_  
_Don’t think of times of strife._  
_Instead, think of those halcyon days._  
_Think of our Garden of Life._

A scowl was firmly placed on Shiro's face as he finished reading. It had been one of many poems he had found lately. All of them had been hidden in random rooms around the Castle of Lions. At first, he didn't recognize the handwriting on the notebook paper. Now he wonders how he could have missed the deteriorating mental state of one of his friends. Sure, he knew his pseudo-brother leaving had left a lot of bitter feelings in everyone, but he didn't think assisted suicide via space battle would be something-God he couldn't even think of his name without feeling guilt. And anger.

While most of his anger was directed at himself for being so blind, he was also ticked off with the writer too. How dare he try to leave them like this? How dare he think that he wasn't worth anything to their team, their family? Shiro could admit that all of them had fallen short in displaying their love and care, but why hadn't he just told them? Why couldn't he just stop one of them and say "Hey, I'm feeling absolutely crappy, can we talk?" Why did believe he wasn't worth anything? Why would he think sacrificing himself was the correct answer? Shiro heaved a sigh and pinched the top of his nose in frustration. The original Black Paladin knew he wasn't going to get answers just yet. Or maybe never if _he_  had his way.

Shiro looked up from the paper in his hand to figure sleeping in the cryopod. It had been two weeks since the author of the poem had been placed inside. Despite all of Coran's best efforts, there had been no signs of the young man waking any time soon. That didn't stop all the displaced humans and Alteans from piling pillows and blankets around the pod and sleeping there instead of their rooms. Not that he blamed them; he shared the same unspoken fear: that the occupant would never come out.

Anxiety rose in Shiro. Quietly, he got up from his chair and carefully stepped into the mountain of pillows guarding the pod. Matt and Hunk both raised their heads sleepily when he stumbled trying not to step on Pidge and Allura, but they didn't argue when Shiro waved at them to go back asleep. Shiro then placed his human hand on the door of the pod.

"If- _when_ -you wake up, we need to have a long talk." Shiro whispered. "This is not okay. We've already lost too much, don't make us lose you too."

His order (or was it more of a plea?) was met with silence.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a long time ago, and I thought, why not? Also, the next piece I write needs to be fluff; I've been posting way too many sad ones.
> 
> Who is in the pod? After reading the poem, I decided it had to be either Keith or Lance. They were the only two that really fit. As for who it was addressed to originally? Well, it could be addressed to anyone on Team Voltron! You get to decide who.
> 
> As always, comments are like dragon nip, flames will cook bacon. Thanks for reading!


End file.
